


History and Strawberry tarts

by Iniren



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-12-01 19:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20881418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iniren/pseuds/Iniren
Summary: Beverly reviews a medical history and makes a decision.





	History and Strawberry tarts

The captain watched his companion as she picked at the last few bites of her dinner, looking off in no particular direction. Other than the requisite pleasantries for good manners, Beverly had been quiet. The Enterprise had just completed an aid mission to an isolated colony, where unexpected flooding had caused a number of structural collapses. The colony's hospital and medical infrastructure was quickly overwhelmed and she'd worked tirelessly coordinating patient treatment and transfers for days. The crisis was over with minimal casualties considering the circumstances and if she had been overly fatigued, she would have just cancelled their meal.

"You're rather quiet tonight, Beverly. Is anything the matter?" he asked. She looked up as if surprised and smiled apologetically.

"No, not really. Just thinking."

"About?"

"Us," she said casually.

He looked up from his plate and saw she'd returned to gazing at that nonspecific place, somewhere between the table and the empty chair on her right. She was curled around one leg up on the chair and had the other dangling down. He liked that she could be so relaxed with him, most people stiffened with formality in his presence.

"Us?" he repeated, trying to sound neutral.

"I was treating a colonist with an artificial heart, the same kind you had replaced while I was at Medical."

"That was a long time ago."

"I looked up your record for reference before I treated him. Since I had it pulled up, I looked over it and saw all the different things you've gone through," she said as she rubbed her tired eyes. "The Borg, Romulans, Cardassians, space probes,terrorists..."

"We've been through a lot," he offered as he started clearing the empty dinner plates. "Thankfully I have the best doctor in Starfleet," he said squeezing her hand. He watched her as she stretched a bit in her chair, she was talking now, but still seemed unsettled. He reached down to place the dessert on the table in front of her and her tea.

She looked up in surprise when she saw the plate. "Strawberry tart and ginger tea," she said.

"Yes, a favorite of yours, if I remember."

"Yes," she said clearly thinking of something else. "Do you remember how you know that?" she asked, smiling gently.

As the memory surfaced he smiled as well. "We were visiting you on shore leave. You were pregnant with Wesley. The ginger tea was to ease the morning sickness, but had become a habit. Jack had said he wanted to get you something, a treat, because you'd been so sick and were finally able to eat. I think you devoured half on your own."

"Jack kept teasing, 'you are what you eat' and calling me 'strawberry tart,'" she said rolling her eyes.

"If I remember you were rather annoyed."

"Yes, after you left for the evening, I told him so too."

"I always knew of Jack, Walker and I, he was the most courageous. Not many would deliberately brave your wrath," he chuckled.

"Brave or foolish," she countered, "I guess it's funny now, but I'd been so sick and the coursework was tough," she said her voice trailing off. Her brow furrowed in frustration and she sighed. "This is what I mean. Nobody knows 'us' like this."

He thought for a moment. "I consider it a privilege to have shared so much with you. Like I said, we've been through a lot."

They sat a moment absorbing there shared history and their respective losses. They finished their desserts and she stood to clear the dishes, a routine choreographed by years of familiarity. He watched her silently, wistfully. She called forfresh tea cups and squeezed his hand as they materialized.He rose and carried the cups to the sofa as she settled in her usual corner.

As she watched him take a sip of his tea and thought back over shared history. Beverly made a decision. "Jean-Luc, I'm tired of being afraid." Looking at him with deliberate intensity, she said softly, "I think I'm done being afraid."

At first the captain said nothing, merely set his cup down on the table before him. He looked at her with an unreadable expression.He wasn't sure if he was understanding fully what she'd meant. He remembered her words when she left him after the mission to Kes-Prytt. -  _ Maybe we should be afraid _ _._ \- They tormented and taunted him, but out of respect and appreciation of her, he'd come to accept their relationship as-is, content to merely have her presence. 

She was curled in her usual place, dancer's legs tucked under her, looking back expectantly over the edge of the teacup she held close. After a moment that stretched out too long, her face fell and she abruptly placed her cup down. "Well, I guess our time has passed. I'd better go," she said her voice catching.

He shook himself out of his stupor and caught her hand as she passed. "Wait, Beverly," he said softly. He stood, gently pulling her close. "I wanted to be sure, I'd misunderstood you before and I didn't want to hope."

"Before?" she asked still uncomfortable being so close.

"At the Kes-Prytt border, I heard you or rather I thought I did. And later when we got back, after you left, I thought maybe I'd misunderstood. It wasn't really words after all," he whispered. 

He'd wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Beverly felt like her heart would burst, crushed by the weight of their emotions. -  _ I love you _ \- she'd thought as the security forces caught her.She didn't think he'd heard her and his revelation made her nestle into him.

He could feel the tears on her face against his neck, the warmth of her embrace. He didn't dare move lest it end the moment. "I don't think there are words for how disappointed I was when you left," he muttered.

"You never said anything afterwards."

"I decided that I still needed you in my life even as friends.I'll never consider any of that wasted or regretting it wasn't more."

"And now?"

He pulled away just enough to look at her. "Beverly, how I feel has never changed," he said softly. Resting his hand against her cheek, he kissed her gently. While still tentative, it left her in no doubt of his feelings.

Settling into his arms again, she asked, "Well where do we go from here? We've long since passed the "getting to know each other" phase of things."

"For now, just stay. We'll be sure to make a steady supply of memories, love and a strawberry tart."

====

Laughing, she looked in his eyes and kissed him passionately. She walked slowly to the bedroom pulling him tenderly by the hand. She teased seductively, "Strawberry tart?" She sighed, "Well you should know that I expect to be thoroughly devoured tonight."

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't sure about that tiny last bit, but it seemed fun.


End file.
